FEL - load weight and quantity

[The Gardener]

I was wondering if any of you might know the approximate weight of one yard of various materials, and whether a B26 FEL totals a yard when full.

Weight for one yard of:

Bark mulch
Sifted loam
Golf size gravel

Many Thanks!
The Gardener

 

[kbota]

I was wondering if any of you might know the approximate weight of one yard of various materials, and whether a B26 FEL totals a yard when full.

Weight for one yard of:

Bark mulch
Sifted loam
Golf size gravel

Many Thanks!
The Gardener

This site may provide some information. Scroll to the bottom and check the chart on how much mulch or rock can be loaded on a half ton pickup. This serves as a guideline, but there is no "absolute" answer to your question because the exact weight will depend on how wet the material is. Many gallons of water can hide inside a yard of mulch or soil.

Hope this helps

k
LUXURY LANDSCAPE - MULCH STONE GRAVEL COMPOST

 

[KeithInSpace]

Don't know about the mulch. As Mr. KBota stated, that is a real wildcard (as is the sifted loam) depending on moisture content. I would use something on the order of 1/2 the weight of soil, for starters.

For the dirt and gravel, you can plan on something in the 90# to 110# range per cubic FOOT...that means something in the ~2,400 to ~3,000# range per cubic YARD.

According to the Kubota website, the "regular" bucket can carry 9.5 cubic feet (0.35 cy) heaped and the optional "light material" bucket can carry 13.8 cubic feet (~0.5 cy) when heaped.

In the regualr bucket, the calculation works out very well to be at lifting capacity when heaped with rock or semi-wet soil. Sounds about right.

By the way, you need one heck of a piece of equipment to carry a full yard of material at once. The (volume) capacity of the standard bucket is triple what my little BX can hold. If my tractor makes short order of landscaping tasks, this thing should be a beast!

 

[The Gardener]

Kbota, great link!!! Thank You!

Hi Keith,

I am looking to buy a 5' x 8' materials trailer to retrieve mulch, loam, and golf ball sized rocks from various local nurseries. Your weight guestimate for ONE YARD of loam and rock makes this trailer purchase more involved than I originally thought.

I attached an image of a generic 5' x 8' trailer [located on the internet] that would be the size and design that would be ideal for my needs.

Might you or others have a guess as to how many yards of [Mulch], [Loam], or [Golf Sized Rock] this type of trailer can carry?

Many Thanks!
The Gardener

 

[Glowplug]

You could possibly carry a cubic yard on that trailer. The surface is 40 s.f. If you covered 2/3 of the surface of the trailer and stacked it 2 ft high it would physically fit. But the more important thing would probably be the weight capacity of the trailer.

BTW, you'd probably have to get a commercial TLB to carry one cubic yard in the bucket at a time.

Good luck.

 

[The Gardener]

I am concerned about the weight capacity.

I went to the Big Tex site, and I copied the link to a single axle trailer that looks like the design we'd want to purchase.

Single Axle : 29SA TRAILER - TRAILERS - Utility Equipment Trailers - Gooseneck Dump Trailers - Big Tex Trailers, home of the largest flatbed utility trailer and industrial equipment trailer manufacturer in the nation. BigTex can design and build flatbed utility trailers, heavy duty gooseneck trailers, hydraulic dump trailers, Auto Transport Trailers, gooseneck lowboy flatbed trailers, and heavy equipment utility trailers to fit any and all of your utility trailer needs. Used Trailers available.

GVWR = 2995#
GAWR = 2960#
Axle = 3500#

I cubic yard of loam or rock = approx 3000#.

The axle rating seems capable of handling the yard weight, but I am unclear what the other two ratings mean.

Thoughts?

Thanks!
The Gardener

 

[KeithInSpace]

It is my uninformed understanding that the GVWR is sometimes 'held down' by manufacturer's as 3,000# is the threshold where brakes are required. I would feel comfortable to the axle rating of 3,500#, though I can say from experience that the tires start to look pretty flat with only 2,400# or so on the trailer.

The GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating), I believe, tells you that the trailer assembly itself weighs 540#, leaving 2,960# available for payload.

Both of the trailers look exceedingly similar to my 5' x 10' trailer on which I have loaded my BX (1,200#), FEL (400#), and BH (800#) combination. I personally wouldn't carry my machine for more than 5 or 10 miles on my trailer. I plan to upgrade. COG is all wrong.

That notwithstanding, you SHOULD be OK getting a yard of whatever (or 2 yards of mulch) in the trailer. I built 5' stakesides for mine with some spare 5/4 board from a deck I built. They come out very quickly, if necessary, and I can reach over them with my FEL when loading. You'd probably unload with your BH, so perhaps you'd only build them 2' or 3' tall so you could pull material out from somewhere other than the back of the trailer. I generally get bulk material delivered so I haven't had to work though that particular issue.

 

[The Gardener]

Excellent. Thank you.

I must say that I had not anticipated the bulk weight of dry sand, dry loam, and rock to be as much as it is [~2700# +/- per cubic yard]. That certainly lessens the efficiency of trailering your own if the required amount exceeds a cubic yard for any one project.

I don't see any present needs for any one of those three items to exceed the one cubic yard limitation. As for dry mulch, we have an ongoing need, but I suspect that we can safely load 3 cubic yards per trip which is fine.

I do plan to make an interior, wood structure with removable, horizontal side and rear boards for material transportation. That will allow us to use the trailer's ramp to access the item w/ a wheel barrel and shovel.

Thanks Again!!!

 

[kbota]

I am concerned about the weight capacity.

GVWR = 2995#
GAWR = 2960#
Axle = 3500#

I cubic yard of loam or rock = approx 3000#.

The axle rating seems capable of handling the yard weight, but I am unclear what the other two ratings mean.

The numbers are correct. The axle is a standard 3500 lb axle, but remember that the trailer frame weighs several hundred lbs which must be subtracted from the axle carrying capacity. Undoubtedly, the trailer frame weighs aprox 500 lbs which provides for a capacity of just under 3000 lbs. Remember that these ratings are for ideal new conditions such as new tires, perfectly set and lubed bearings, etc...

I do not fully understand what your needs are, but, based on what you have stated, I would recommend that you buy a 16' tandem trailer. It has much higher capacity, higher level of safety with two axles, and much more versatile if you need to haul your bx AND a
yard or two of mulch somewhere at the same time Tandem trailers are much safer than a single axle, ESPECIALLY, if you are towing with a smaller vehicle. If you ever experience a heavily loaded single axle trailer pushing a small truck down a hill in heavy traffic, then you understand how easily things can turn sour and put you upside down in a ditch, or worse. Under those conditions, if you are unable to accelerate, then things are about to become very ugly. If you are towing with a small truck, then have brakes installed on the rear axle.

Most tandem 16' trailers weigh about 1600 lbs depending on materials used. Mine weighs 1660, but it was fabricated completely from rectangular tubing, and I've installed brakes on the rear axle.

Hope this helps.

k

 

[The Gardener]

Thanks kbota. I really appreciate the help that all of you so willingly offer!

Others convinced me in a previous thread to bypass the idea of buying a trailer to transport a tractor. It is clearly less expensive to pay the dealership to do so.

We have not yet made a tractor purchase. We budgeted for a BX24 this summer. My next door neighbor has one, and we love it. We have played with his many times in recent weeks. It's great. But, since our property is quite a bit larger and our terrain and needs are significantly different, we then decided to explore the larger B21 which would have maxed out our budget. Then, the B26 arrived on the scene w/ the added FEL power, additional backhoe strength, and a hydrualic thumb. We concluded that the B26 was the perfect match for our long term plans. I want to be sure to buy a little more tractor than we think we need. Unfortunately, the B26 costs well above this summer's budget, so we are targeting a May '08 purchase date.

For this summer, we're now looking to purchase a 5' x 10', light weight, open trailer to retrieve our own materials [sand, loam, large gravel, and mulch (mostly)]. We have a 5' x 8', enclosed, cargo trailer that we use to transport my wife's art work.

For the past several years, we have been paying people to deliver materials to our homestead: sand, loam, large gravel, and mulch. The delivery costs are high: $65 +/- each delivery. I figured that it would be cost effective [and far more convenient] to purchase our own trailer to transport these materials and other items that are too challenging to load into the cargo trailer. Plus, I'd like to have an open trailer to drag around the property with a tractor. That'd be very convenient for relocating rocks, clearing brush, making runs to the town dump, and etc.